Trust the Universe

The Universe will take care of us.

It sounds crazy. Maybe it is. But so far it has been working miracles for me, and if it works, I trust it.

It can be enormously difficult to trust anything, especially if you've had a very challenging childhood. Trusting life and trusting the Universe is no different. As humans we tend to become incapacitated by stress, perceived failure, or even fear. And, at least as a culture, Americans seem to view life as the enemy or an object of struggle. It doesn't have to be this way and the only thing that you need to change is your outlook. It's that simple.

With practice I have come to let go of any fears I have about life and have increasingly put my trust in the universe.

I think I really learned to trust the universe after graduating from college. With a liberal arts degree I was having a difficult time finding what I considered to be an appropriate job (something that paid well and provided intellectual stimulation). It occurred to me that in order to do what I would like to do, I would need a Masters degree. So, I began my search for a graduate program in anything.

I thought that I was particularly interested in Library and Information Science (LIS) or Psychology. So, I searched and searched. I found a few programs that interested me (half of them I found accidentally). I also noticed that my interest in programs also correlated with my interest in schools. I was only interested in LIS at Arizona. I was only interested in Psychology at New College of California. I was only interested in Gender/Cultural Studies at Simmons College. And I was definitely not interested in staying in my home state, Washington.

I narrowed it down to New College of CA and Simmons. New College had the earlier application deadline. I met it with only a couple weeks to spare. Within two months I was rejected. Somehow, I had really expected to get into New College and although I assured myself "the universe has another plan for me" I felt like graduate school would never be a reality for me. Not thinking I had a chance I applied to Simmons College anyway. About 2 months before classes were to start I received a letter of acceptance and left for Boston a month later.

I realized (for the umpteenth time) that the Universe truly does take care of me. All of these millions of events pulled together sequentially and then simultaneously so that I might get from point A (birth) to point B (Simmons College). Everything worked out, and truly so smoothly, because I trusted the Universe.

What does it mean to trust the Universe?

I talk about the Universe the way some people talk might talk about their God, or themselves. I see the Universe as a compilation of a variety of things, and you are welcome to see it however makes sense to you too. For me, the Universe is not just an infinite smattering of void and mass. The Universe is the ultimate machine. Not only is the Universe chaotic and infinite but we can also observe distinct patterns that arise from this chaos. One way for us to think about this is how our lives seem to be incredibly chaotic (hundreds of things happening all at once and seemingly unrelated), yet when we step back we are able to see particular patterns (how all of these things happening impact our daily lives, choices, etc.). Depending on how we look at it, life can appear to be either completely random and out of our control or very calculated based on a pattern of opportunities and decisions. I prefer the second view because it is much more empowering and affords me much more flexibility and movement within my life.

Where-ever I am meant to be I will go. Likewise, where-ever I am meant not to be I will not get there. The more we struggle against the universe, the more difficult Life feels.

This certainly doesn't mean that we should wait for something to happen before we make decisions or take action... or that if we are in dangerous or unhealthy situations that it is "meant to be." It merely means that when the universe presents us with options and possibilities we have to be open to seeing them and then doing something with them. We can't waste our time being afraid of the results or we will never go anywhere and stagnancy is definitely not a characteristic of the Universe.

When you find yourself thinking "Life sucks, this isn't what I want," take a step back and ask yourself some questions:
What do I truly want? (A good relationship, a challenging and interesting job, to write a novel).
What are barriers to meeting my goals? (bad relationship, fear, sense of being overwhelmed, friends, education).
What risks am I willing to take to make my goals happen? (Leave bad relationship, apply for a "dream job", take an hour in the evenings to write).
What opportunities is the universe presenting to me? (Government/Community programs, education, time, friends).

Ask the universe for help.
Tell yourself repeatedly that you can do succeed.
Take one step at a time and appreciate every little success you have.
Getting out of bed is a success- CONGRATULATIONS!